Can-opener.



L. E. BAUER.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION HLED MAR. 4, 1916- REHEWED OCT- 10.!916.

Patented May 22, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

-L. E. BAUER.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION man MAR.4.19I6- RENEWED OCT. 10. 19l6.

1,226,628. Patented May 22, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mmmm TTNTTEU STATES PATENT LAWRENCE E. BAUER, OF HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND, ASSIGrNOR TO THE BAUER MANUFACTURING COMPANY A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

GAN-PENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented MayZZ, 1919.

Application filed March 4, 1916, Serial No. 82,237. ReneWedOctober 10, 1916. Serial No. 124,899.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LAWRENCE E. BAUER, a citizen of the United States residing at Havre de Grace, in the county of Hal-ford and State of htlaryland, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Can- (lpeners, of which'tlie'following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in can openers, and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient device for cutting out the heads of cans and which automatically adjusts itself to various sizes of cans to be opened.

The invention consists of thenovel construction and arrangement of theparts and combination of parts hereinafter more fully set forth in the following specification and pointed out in detail in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

.liigurc 1 is a side elevation of my invention with a can in position under the adj ustable head.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail plan view of the head and cutter, the stem being in section on the line ma2 of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4c is an enlarged view, partly in section, showing the position of the parts when a can is being opened.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the cutting blade.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, framing part of this specification, and in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views thereof, 1 designates the base to which isbolted, or

otherwise secured, an upright 2 the upper end 3 of which extends parallel to and projects over the base 1. The said upper end 3 is also provided with two integral lugs 4t and projecting from one side thereof and each provided with an aperture through which the shaft 6 projects. The said shaft 6 is provided with a hand-wheel 7 on, one end and a gear-wheel 8 on the opposite end, and a coiled spring 9 between the lug a and the wheel 7. The coiled spring 9 exerts sufficient tension against the said wheel 7 to prevent turning of the shaft. 6 and con- .sequently the dropping of the head 10 when not in use. The said head 10 is secured to the lower end of the stem 11 and is provided with a number of tangs12 which are forced through the head of the can 13 to prevent the latter from turning during the cutting operation. The said stem 11 projects through an aperture in the upper end 3 of the upright 2 and has a contracted lower end let, and is also provided with a rack 15 which projects through the cut-out 16 and is in mesh with the gear-wheel 8 on the shaft 6, the revolution of which latter causes the stem 11 and consequently the head 10 to be raised or lowered as desired. Revolubly mounted on the contractedlower end 14 of the stem is a block 17 provided with grooves 18 on opposite sides thereof. The cutting lever 19 has a handle on its outer end and is bifurcated on its inner end the prongs 20 of which project on opposite sides of the block 17 and are each provided with a pin 21 extending into the grooves 18 and adaptedto move back and forth therein to adapt the cutting blade to the various sizes of cans to be opened. The cutting lever 19 carries a cutting blade 22 secured between the prongs of the bifurcated inner end, and held thereto by screws 23 passing through the holes 24. This cutting lever 19 is also provided with a beveled guide 26 which strikes the outer edge of the can 13 as the lever 19 is forced down and causes the cutting blade to be carried out to a point near the edge of the top before it pierces the latter, see Fig. 41. The coiled spring 25 has one end secured to the block 17 and the opposite end secured to the cutting lever 19 and serves to hold the latter normally in the raised position and back against the block 17, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The head 10 is raised to allow the can 13 to be placed on the base 1 and then lowered by turning the'hand-wheel 7 until the tangs 12 are forced through the can top. The lever 19 is then turned until it strikes the upright 2 then forced down, the guide 24: striking the edge of the canwill cause the cut ting blade 22 to be carried out to the proper position when it will be forced through the can top. The said lever 19 is then held firmly down and turned on the stem 11 until it strikes the opposite side of the upright 2 when it will be released and returned to its normal position by the spring 25. The head 10 is then raised from the can by means of the hand-wheel 7 and the can is then lifted from the base 1.

Slight alterations in the construction and arrangement of the parts, within the appended claims, may be made without departing from the spirit of my present invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. -A can opener comprising an upright, a head mounted in said upright and adapted to be raised and lowered therein, a block revolubly mounted above said head, a lever having one end slidably connected to said block, a cutting blade on the lower surface of said lever, and a guide on the lower surface of said lever having a beveled surface adjacent the cutting blade to automatically adjust the cutting bladeas said lever is lowered.

2. A can opener comprising an upright having its upper end bent at right angles, a head having a stem projecting through the upper end of said upright and adapted to be raised and lowered therein, a block revolubly mounted on said stem above the head and having grooves in its opposite sides, a bifurcated lever having its pronged ends mounted in the grooves of said block,

means to hold the lever to its normal posi (topics of this patent may be obtained for tion, a cutting blade carried by said lever, and a guide on the lower surface of said lever adjacent the cutting blade to autcin said grooves, a cutting blade on the lower surface of said lever, a guide on the lower surface of said lever having a beveled surface adjacent the cutting blade to automatically adjust the cutting blade as said lever is lowered, and a coiled spring having one end connected to said lever and its other end connected to said block.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LAWRENCE E. BAUER.

Witnesses HARRY J OBES, MARTIN ABBOTT, Jr.

five cents each, by addressing the (iommissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

